Lil'Johnny,
I would say I am anticipating the beatdown the Buckeyes would give OU in the NIT but for 2 things:
- There is still a good chance we will still end up in the NCAA, despite your assumption to the contrary.
- After the beating the Bobbedcats took from Miami OH, I'm not even sure OU will make the NIT. (And whatever happened to your "guarantee" that the Redhawks would be the team that got smoked?)
You want a reasonable argument from a Buckeye fan? How about this: You state there are 7 Ohio schools better than the Buckeyes, and list 5 (Akron, Ohio, Cleveland St., Dayton, Wright St.) I will assume the others are Xavier and Kent State. Congrats by the way on finally remembering Dayton is in Ohio.
According to CollegeRPI.com, the relative RPI rankings are as follows:
- Xavier - RPI #9, SOS # 29
- Kent State - RPI # 27, SOS # 117
- Dayton - RPI # 35, SOS # 41
- Ohio State - RPI # 47, SOS # 21
- Ohio U - RPI # 69, SOS # 113
- Cleveland St - RPI # 71, SOS # 97
- Wright State - RPI # 84, SOS # 148
- Akron - RPI # 85, SOS # 156
Already it is pretty obvious that OSU is much stronger than at least half the field, but let's look a little deeper:
I will give you off hand that Xavier is stronger. Better RPI, ranking, record, record vs RPI top 50, the works. The Musketeers are the cream of the crop in Ohio this year.
Of the remaining teams, only Dayton has a SOS that is anywhere near comperable to Ohio State's, and sports a better record, albeit in a somewhat lesser conference. The A-10 is probably the best of the non-power conferences this year, but they still do not stack up top to bottom with the Big Ten. Dayton has 2 wins vs the RPI top 50. I would say a game between the Fliers and the Buckeyes could go either way, except that the injuries to Charles Little and Chris Wright devestated this team. They are 7-9 down the stretch and haven't beaten a top team since December (3 losses to Xavier.) Dayton may have beaten the Bucks in January or December, but wouldn't today.
Kent State is a solid team - would probably beat Ohio State on their home court, probably not at Ohio State. KSU has exactly one win over a RPI top 50 team (Illinois State.) By way of comparason, OSU has 3. Again, a competitive game, but in the end I think the Bucks' greater experience in big game situations would be the difference on a neutral floor.
Ohio U is next on the RPI rankings, but now we're getting well below the top 50. With an RPI of 69 and a SOS of 113, OU needs some big time wins to have any credibility, but their best wins are KSU at home and @ Maryland. Both wins are decent, but Maryland doesn't actually qualify as a top 50 RPI, so OU only gets credit for one win there. OU might give the Bucks a good game in Athens, but anywhere else, they get creamed.
Cleveland State - OSU beat them by 17 in Cleveland. Next.
Wright State - a 43-42 home win over Butler does not balance out some really bad losses.
Akron - best win is probably @ Ohio U. Not one win vs RPI top 50 (swept by Kent State, lost @ Dayton.) Not a serious contender, though the 23-9 record will probably get them in the NIT.
